Applications are arising in the automotive industry that require the use of shielded, e.g. coaxial, electrical cables. These cables may be used for high voltage power transmission as well as digital data transmission within the vehicle. Connecting these shielded cables necessitates connecting the inner core conductors as well as the outer sheath (shield) conductors.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,055 issued to Plate, et. al. on Dec. 4, 2012 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,868,251 issued to Gladd, et. al. on Jan. 11, 2011 show an electrical cable assembly that includes a connector that is configured to electrically connect both the inner core and the outer sheath of a shielded cable. The connector includes a female shield that is connected to the outer sheath and a male shield that is configured to mate with the female shield. It has been observed by the inventors that mechanical shock and vibration experienced by these types of connectors in an automotive environment may cause fretting corrosion between the male and female shields. A shielded electrical cable assembly capable of withstanding the shock and vibration profile of an automobile without experiencing fretting corrosion is therefore desired.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.